Looking to inspire musical creativity in Chicago, musicians Frank Rosaly and Jaimie Branch have started up the Ratchet Series, a string of weekly jazz shows at the Skylark in Pilsen. “Chicago has such a long, deep tradition of creative jazz music, and in the twenty-first century you sometimes have to remind people of that,” says Rosaly, noting that he saw Pilsen as a perfect base for his idea because of the lack of live music. “The tradition continues in bars like the Skylark, and all we can do is present it, pass around a hat for donations and try to help the music move forward by making the venue balanced with all the social pluses, as well as presenting this great musical tradition—while also paying the musicians for their work.” Rosaly sees the series expanding past jazz in the future. “I would love to start blurring the lines by having the likes of Pillars and Tongues one week, then Cameron Pfiffner Quintet the following week, then Rob A.A. Lowe, then Jeff Parker, The Eternals... A lot of work has come from organizers, venues, musicians and fans alike so there is some quality joint you can go every night of the week and see great jazz and other creative music. We're hoping to contribute to that lineage.”

Yes. The rumors are true. At the end of this month, The Ratchet Series at the Skylark will be coming to a close forever. A couple noise complaints from the upstairs neighbor has lead to Bob pulling the plug.

For 6 1/2 years Anton Hatwich, Nick Mazzarella and myself been presenting music there with the best of our ability. We are super disappointed that the series is coming to such an abrupt end.

Please join us in celebrating live music in Chicago by coming out to our final performances!